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08/24/2011

Let Thomas Merton Rest in Peace

George Weigel has a piece on First Things today about Thomas Merton titled Among the 'Progressed' in which he says:

I’ve often had the sneaking suspicion that, had he lived beyond his untimely death in 1968, Merton might—just might—have become one of the first Catholic neoconservatives.

As I say in a comment on the site, one ought to have enough respect for the memory of Thomas Merton to refrain from using him to attempt to promote neoconservatism. That Merton would have become one of the first Catholic neoconservatives had he lived is pure fantasy. If there is an alternate universe in which an alternate Thomas Merton is alive and well at the age of 97, an alternate George Weigel is free to try to recruit him as a neoconservative, a Republican, a Tea Party member, or whatever he chooses. But in this universe, Merton is long dead, and no matter how much wishful thinking anyone engages in, Merton cannot posthumously become a neoconservative.

Comments

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I saw your reply to Weigel's column on First Things and could not agree more with you. What a shameful and disrespectful attempt to co-opt the memory of this brilliant mystic into an unseemly political cabal. Why must Weigel delve into such ugliness, I wonder? Can he really believe history is his turntable and he is the remix DJ?

"I don’t believe pedophilia (as in raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl, which is apparently what the Torchwood character is guilty of) was ever cool. In fact, I don’t think pedophilia (that is, adults having sex with prepubescent children) was ever cool or will ever be cool."

Raping and murdering a child has nothing to do with pedophilia, just like a man raping and killing another man has nothing to do with homosexuality. The sexual orientation of a person is irrelevant when it comes to commiting a crime and I find your comments equating pedophiles with child rapists offensive and completely ignorant. Pedophilia is not defined as "adults having sex with prepubescent children", but as a sexual orientation towards children.
"I wouldn’t include homosexuality in the same category as polygamy, and I wouldn’t include polygamy in the same category as pedophilia, but I don’t suppose it bothers you to include Will and Jack (the gay characters from Will and Grace) as members of a “misunderstood sexual minority” that seems in the same category as a pedophile who murders a 12-year-old girl."

And I dont supppose it bothers you to mention a child murderer as a "pedophile". Pedophilia IS a sexual orientation: some people are attracted to men, other to adults, other to children. Raping a child is a crime, just like raping a woman is a crime. That doesnt stop heterosexuality from being a sexual orientation, does it?

"As the John Jay Report says, committing a homosexual act does not make one “a homosexual.” "

Exactly, just like commiting a pedophile act does not make one "a pedophile". A child molester is not a pedophile and molesting a child doesnt make no one a pedophile.

"Pedophiles are people who are sexually strongly attracted to children. "

... As strongly as being attracted to women? As strongly as being attracted to persons of the same sex? There are heterosexual men who seldom think about sex. Same with pedophiles: some think about sex very little, others more. I will try to explain it to you: ITS A SEXUAL ORIENTATION. That means that its a WILD DIVERSITY on attractions. You cant generalize. Just because you are a pedophile doesnt mean you are thinkin all the time about having sex. It doesnt make you a "freak", a "creep", a "child molester" or any other bullshit generalization. Just like most heterosexual men are not "perverts", most pedophiles are not perverts.

"In real life, many extremely evil people are likable and even charming and charismatic. If fiction is supposed to send the message that pedophiles and serial killers can be spotted in a crowd because they visibly ooze evil, I think that is very unfortunate."

Now you are showing your true believes: Do you actually think that people who have a different sexual orientation are evil? Do you really think that having sexual thoughts and/or fantasies (which are NOT necesarily "sadistic" or non consensual in nature) about children make you "evil"?

Sorry, but last time I checked no one chooses ones sexual orientation. No one chooses to be a pedophile or homosexual or heterosexual. There are excellent people who are attracted to children, and yet they live normal and loving lifes. Having a different sexual orientation does not necesarily make you, ever, a bad person.

Your highly ignorant discourse about pedophilia is based on a completely different set of "people": child molesters and murderers. Somehow, you think that a child rapist is a pedophile and a pedophile is a child rapist. This only alone shows that you dont even know of what you are talking about. That you are talking about a subject that you have never read about. I wont dispute any claims you might want to make about child rapists, but when it comes to pedophiles, you show yourself as a complete ignorant biggot.